Plant-spray.



Patented Mar. 15, 1910.

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A. TAPLIN. PI ANT SPRAY APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 1. 1909.

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A. TAPLIN. PLANT SPRAY. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 1, 1909.

Patented Mar. 15, 1910.

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A. TAPLIN. PLANT SPRAY. APPLICATION FILED SEPT.1,,1909.

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Patented Mar. 15, 1910.

ALVIN TAPLIN', OF FORESTVILLE, CONNECTICUT.

PLANT-SPRAY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 1, 1909. Serial No. 515,734.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALVIN TAPLIN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Forestville, in the county of Hartford and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPlant-Sprays, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in plant sprays and the .objects ofmy improvements are simplicity and economy in construction andconvenience and efficiency in use.

In the accompanying drawings-Figure 1 is a side elevation of my plantspray. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan view ofa delivery set, on an enlarged scale. Fig. 4: is a perspective view ofthe same, in part broken out. Fig. 5 is a rear elevation of a modifiedarrangement of delivery sets. Fig. 6 is a rear elevation of a modifiedarrangement of delivery units.

A. is a supply tank or reservoir for containing the supply of plantspraying compound or solution and is mounted on an axle or shaft 15 bymeans of a platform G, in any ordinary manner, preferably on its side asshown, which shaft is rigidly and longitudinally adjustably secured to apair of wheels 0, so that as the wheels are propelled, whether by ahorse hitched within the shafts D, the inner ends of which are pivotallysecured to the said axle B, or by other means, the said wheels Cconstitute driving wheels for the said axle B so that the said axle Bmay be utilized as a driving shaft. By so utilizing the said axle theoperating features of my, device may be pro pelled, the same comprisinga pump E and an agitator F. The said pump E may be of ordinary design,is mounted on the plat form G and is adapted to draw spraying materialin liquid form from the said reservoir A by means of a suction hose 10,let through an opening in the top of the reservoir A and providedpreferably with an inlet pipe 11 at the lower end having a suitablyfiaring inlet 12 at the external free end, and deliver the same throughdischarge hose 23 to a suitable delivery or discharge system comprisingone or more sets of spray units H to Joe hereafter described. Operativeconnection between the said pump E and the driving shaft B is obtainedby means of a train of gears 1 taking the power from the shaft and bymeans of a link J delivering the same to the pump handle or lever K inthe form of a suitable reciprocating motion. The said agitator Fcomprises a paddle 13 mounted on an arm 1a which arm passes through andis a loose fit for a collar 15 in the top Wall 16 of the said reservoirA and is secured by its upper end to an elbow 17, which elbow may be apipe fitting, the lower end 18 of which is adapted to rest on the saidcollar 15 and to serve as a pivotal support for the said paddle F. Tothe laterally extending end 19 of the said elbow 17 is secured apropelling arm 20, the outer end 21 of which is passed through and is aloose fit for a hole in a block or connecting piece 22 rigidly securedto the said pump arm K, so that the said pump arm may serve as a drivingarm for the said agitator F when the pump is in operation. The saidspray units H comprise a receiving pipe 25 connected as shown in Fig. 2at the right end to a cook or valve 2 1 which controls the supply fromthe pump E and a set of three nozzles 40 connected to the said pipe 25by three branch delivery pipes respectively, a middle branch pipe 26,connected by means of a T 2'7 located a little to the left of the centerand two end branch delivery pipes 28, respectively a left branchconnected by means of an elbow 29 and located at the left end of pipe 25and a right branch connected by means of a T 27 located intermediate thelength of the pipe 25 and near the right end of the same. The saidmiddle branch pipe 26 is vertical and is provided at the lower end withan elbow 30. The lower arm 31 of the elbow 30 is directed toward thecenter and is provided with a short pipe nipple 32. The connectionbetween the upper end of the branch pipe 26 and the T 27 consists of apipe thread connection screwed together with sufficient pressure to bewater tight and self sustaining and at the same time so as to yieldsufficiently to permit of angular adjustment and comprising a selfsustaining, adjustable, and flexible joint 17, and accordinglypermitting of adjustment of the nozzles 40 supported by the same in ahorizontal plane. The nipple 32 at the end remote from the elbow 30 issimilarly provided with a pipe thread adapted to be received into acorrespondingly threaded arm 34L of an elbow 33 and to be secured to thesame by screwing together so as to form a similar fluid tight, selfsustaining, and flexible joint 36 permitting of adjustment of its nozzle40 in a vertical plane. The arm 35 Patented Mar. 15, 1910.

of the elbow 83 remote from the said flexible oint 2-36 is generallybackwardly directed and connected to a delivery pipe 37 which isconnected through a downwardly directed elbow 38 and nipple 3S) to themiddle spray nozzle it). The said right and left branch pipes connectedto the tee and elbow respectively as described are connected to similarspray nozzles 40, by .means of an elbow *ll, nipple 4-2, elbow L3, pipeor nipple -l-+l elbow 45, and nipple 46, flexible, adjustable, and selfsustaining joints similar to joint 36 being provided in the branchpiping leading to the said branch spray nozzles 1110; the first 47,between the downwardly directed elbow 29 or T 27 for the left and rightbranches respectively, and the nipple 28 permitting of motion in ahorizontal plane, the second at L8, between the out wardly and laterallydirected elbow 1-1, and the nipple 42, permitting of motion in avertical plane, and combined as described comprise an essentiallyuniversal connection.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and L the delivery unit has the middle nozzle1L0 essentially at the medial line of the outfit as determined by thelocation of the. reservoir and the spread of the wheels, and the branchpipes leading to the laterally disposed nozzles 40 are essentiallyequi-distant on. each side, and correspond in spread more or less to thespread of the wheels. l urthermore, the shafts are so located preferablythat if propelled by a horse one wheel will follow the horse.

The central nozzle -l;O will probably in most cases be so located as totravel directly over the top of one row of the growing plants that it isdesired to spray and on this account the vertical adjustment by means ofthe oint 36 may be expected to be most convenient for this particularnozzle, permitting as it does, the elevation of the nozzle according tothe height of the plants, although occasionally the joint 47 permittingof adjustment in the horizontal plane, or lateral adjustment, may befound to be of service.

For the lateral nozzles 40 in most cases of a change in adjustment, bothjoints l7 and 48, making up the universal connection as describedbetween the pipe 25 and the nozzles etO, will be employed, one of theextreme changes being between an adjustment for having the three nozzles40 spread apart so as to spray three separate rows, as of a small sizedgrowth, each nozzle operating independent of the other, and anadjustment for spraying one row of a relatively larger growth, the cent'al nozzle 40 being raised so as to spray over the tops and thelaterally disposed nozzles 40 adjusted essentially as shown in Fig. 2 soas to spray the same row of plants laterally or from the sides.

The number of delivery units such as de scribed may be increased asdesired by eX tending the pipe 25 laterally as indicated in Fig. 6 andtaking off the branches from the same. Likewise the number of deliveryunits H may be increased Within the spread used in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4,or the spread of the wheels, as for instance by doubling the said unitsas shown in Fig. 5, retaining the feature of a grouping of three nozzles40 to a set, and the feature of universal adjustment, including thelateral adjustment of the side branches.

I claim as my invention In a plant spray, a spraying unit comprising amain and a set of three spraying nozzles, including a central nozzle andtwo lateral nozzles,each connected to the said main by a branch made upof short lengths of pipe connected in series by means of fittings, thejoints between said pipes and fittings comprising pipe thread joints,self sustaining and permitting of universal adj ustmont of the saidnozzles, the said central nozzle adapted to be adjusted to spraydirectly in line with the tops of a row of plants, and the lateralnozzles adapted to be adjusted alternatively to spray the sides of saidplants or to spray independently parallel lateral rows of plants.

ALVIN TAPLIN.

\Vitnesses JAMES SHEPARD, SHEFFIELD H. CLARKE.

